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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24889771">back streets</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yououui/pseuds/yououui'>yououui</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cloud is too pretty to ignore in his Wallmarket dress, F/M, First Kiss, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:13:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24889771</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yououui/pseuds/yououui</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud looks stunning in his dress to fool the Don, and Aerith can't resist his beautifully painted lips.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aerith Gainsborough &amp; Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>128</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>back streets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is based off of artwork by @sleep_junky and @shellcanpy on twitter, which you can find <a href="https://twitter.com/sleep_junky/status/1273959174443986944?s=21">here</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/shellcanpy/status/1272507627994353664?s=21">here!</a> Go give their beautiful pieces your love ^^</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Not a word.”</p><p>“Not even one?”</p><p>“<em>No! </em>”</p><p>Aerith looked Cloud up and down, from his little heeled booties, the lacy hem of his black dress, the poofy skirt and the navy corset that somehow made his muscular body look voluptuous in a way Aerith almost felt envious of. “But you’re so <em> pretty</em>!” Aerith told him while gesturing to his body.</p><p>She wasn’t lying or exaggerating. If anything, she was downplaying just how gorgeous Cloud looked. Of course it was easy to tell, even in his battle-worn ex-SOLDIER uniform and without any makeup, that Cloud was a very pretty person naturally. But now, with his lips painted rouge and his cheeks blushed and his eyes outlined with smudged liner, the cold, hardened edge he usually wore was softened to something gentle and beautiful.</p><p>“Hey pretty ladies, looking for a nice time?” A man called as he walked by them with a lewd gesture.</p><p>Cloud turned his head away from the street with a huff and a frown. Despite his body being entirely covered, he felt so exposed. He wasn’t sure how Aerith was handling their time spent in Wall Market so well, especially since she changed into her stunning red dress. Her beauty attracted all kinds of unwanted admirers, and now so did Cloud’s, and he wanted nothing more than to get her out of there before another set of skeevy eyes looked at the two of them or anyone said another word to her.</p><p>“Come on,” Aerith said, like she could read Cloud’s mind. She took his arm and pulled him away from the door they were tucked in front of, down a dark, narrow alleyway between a couple of the buildings. They were lucky to find it free of anyone drunk or high, giving them a moment alone and away from lecherous eyes. They were almost pressed together, the slim area giving them minimal space between each other.</p><p>“Thanks,” Cloud murmured.</p><p>“How are the shoes?” Aerith asked him. “Do they hurt?”</p><p>Cloud shook his head. “Just tough to walk in,” He told her. He shifted a bit. “It all is. This dress is so tight.”</p><p>“Welcome to the joys of being a woman,” Aerith said with a small laugh. “Seriously though, Cloud. You look <em> so </em> beautiful. Corneo’s gotta pick you.”</p><p>Cloud scoffed and shook his head. “Not half as beautiful as you,” He mumbled without thinking. As soon as he’d said it, he clamped his mouth shut and lowered his eyes.</p><p>Aerith just smiled, amused and flattered and filled with an overwhelming urge to kiss the embarrassed look right off of Cloud’s face. She’d wanted to kiss him since the moment she saw him, if she was being honest, and that wasn’t something she regularly felt. He just had such kissable lips; she’d thought so since she saw him lying unconscious on her flowerbed and continuously made the observation since then, <i>especially</i> when he smiled at her. And now, with their red color and the slight sheen that made them look plumper than usual, even more so.</p><p>So, she did it. No time like the present, she told herself as she leaned in and pressed her lips to Cloud’s in a quick, chaste little peck.</p><p>She felt him gasp against her lips in the split second they were together. When she pulled back from him, he was looking at her with eyes so wide, his fanned out lashes touched his brow bone. His cheeks were even redder than before, deepening in color from more than just the makeup on his face.</p><p>She hadn’t thought she would kiss him—not yet, anyway, but how could she help herself when he looked so stunning and he was standing so close to her, all it would take was one gentle nudge for the two of them to fall into each other’s arms? Her first time kissing those tempting lips, and they were covered in lipstick. She didn’t want to stop; she wanted to keep kissing him over and over again until burgundy was smudged around his lips and his makeup was ruined.</p><p>But Cloud was still staring at her like he was going through shock, unmoving and blinking slowly. Aerith offered him a small smile in an attempt to get him to start breathing again. He took one breath, his chest and the slightly stuffed bra rising with it. “Aerith…?” He questioned softly.</p><p>“...Sorry,” Aerith responded, just as quietly. Maybe she’d been overzealous, had overstepped Cloud’s boundaries. Maybe Cloud wasn’t developing the same feelings she was and she had misread their time together. <em> Maybe </em> he acted the same way with every girl he came across. As she thought it, her heart dropped in disappointment. She wanted to step back, to put more distance between them, but the wall against her back prevented her from doing so. She was about to take a step to the side so she could escape the alley, but a hand closed around her wrist.</p><p>Cloud held onto Aerith’s slim wrist without saying a word. He didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know how to process what had just happened, but he did know that he didn’t want her to leave. He knew that he wanted to kiss her again, if she’d let him. Her eyes met his, evergreen and swimming with a power Cloud did not yet understand but felt entranced by.</p><p>Her painted lips parted as Cloud leaned in just a bit closer. His eyes lowered to look at her mouth, exposing the pretty shimmering eyeshadow that covered his lids, and that was all the encouragement Aerith needed. </p><p>This time when Aerith went to kiss him, Cloud met her in the middle. He’d never kissed anyone before and he worried she’d be able to tell, but if she could, she made no comment nor did she let it bother her. She opened and closed her lips against his as the kiss deepened and Cloud followed her lead, slid his hand from her wrist and up the smooth skin of her arm from the craving to feel her more. </p><p>She clasped one hand against his neck, the hair of his cute braids tickling her fingers, and tilted his head slightly. His mouth opened in a gasp from the new angle and Aerith took advantage of that to lick her tongue into his mouth, and the weak, trembling noise that escaped his throat made every second of this moment feel worth it. She swallowed each gasp, each tiny moan and quivering whimper he made with greed and the absolutely astounding want to make him fall apart even more in her hands.</p><p>She pressed Cloud back against the grimy wall behind him when she felt his tongue tentatively move against hers. His hand tightened around her arm as he took more initiative and parted his lips for her, slid his tongue into her mouth and heavily over hers with the need to feel her more, deeper, <em>closer.</em> His other hand slipped around her waist and landed on her back, resting over her smooth bare skin. Her hand, the one not against his neck and maneuvering his head, fell to his hip and gripped the frilly fabric there.</p><p>Cloud never wanted this moment to end. He was anxious, nervous, fighting the yearning to do even more and fall even further into unknown territory, but the glorious feeling of Aerith’s lips against his and her tongue in his mouth, it was like heaven. There was a fire igniting within his heart, pumping through his veins until he felt hot all over.</p><p>Aerith pulled away from Cloud’s lips and instead kissed his cheekbone, then dragged her lips down his faintly freckled skin to his neck. She loved this, she relished in it, and she wanted so much <em>more</em>. She wanted to hike up her skirt, to keep Cloud's pretty clothes on and push her hands under his dress until she could—</p><p>“Aerith...” Cloud breathed into her ear.</p><p>She lifted her head from his neck and kissed him one more time, let him lick her lips hungrily, and then pulled back.</p><p>Cloud looked positively debauched. There was a deep crimson blush spread ear to ear, across his cheeks and over his nose bridge. His lipstick was smudged messily around his mouth, so beautiful it almost looked artistically intentional. And against his cheek and down to his neck, there were kiss marks left behind from Aerith’s lipstick.</p><p>Aerith leaned back a bit to get a better look at him, smiling in triumph as she swiped her thumb against the corner of her lips to clean up her own messy lipstick. Cloud swallowed and turned his shining eyes away from her, looking down and to the left as the blush only grew deeper. He was frowning slightly out of awkwardness, though with his kiss-swollen lips, it almost looked like he was pouting. </p><p>“Oh, for god’s sake.”</p><p>Cloud and Aerith jumped and both lifted their eyes to the edge of the alley. “M-Madam M!” Aerith squeaked when she saw the woman glaring at the two of them with her hands resting menacingly on her hips. Cloud turned away from her judgemental eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.</p><p>“After all the gil that was spent to pretty the two of you up, you couldn’t keep it in your pants for more than ten minutes?!” Madam M snapped at them. “And here I thought you had an important reason for making me spend my time on you.”</p><p>“W-We do, we swear!” Aerith said. “We’re so sorry, we didn’t mean—”</p><p>“Shut it,” Madam M said while pointing her fan in Aerith’s direction. “Get out here, now. My girls can’t fix you up if you’re in the dark.”</p><p>Reluctantly, Aerith and Cloud stepped out of the privacy of the back street and into the neon lights of Wall Market. Under the purple haze, Cloud looked even messier than he did in the alley—Aerith could see some mascara smudged around his eyes, like they’d been watering.</p><p>At a snap of Madam M’s fingers, two girls ran up to Cloud and Aerith. One of them rubbed a cloth against Cloud’s cheeks to wipe away the lipstick marks, and he scrunched his face up adorably against her rough ministrations. She pulled out a compact once the stains were removed and quickly fixed his face makeup, carefully wiped away the running mascara and applied a new coat of lipstick.</p><p>The girl in front of Aerith gave her the same treatment, though luckily didn’t need to do quite as much since Cloud hadn’t ruined her makeup the same way she had ruined his. When they were finished, Madam M smirked at the two of them.</p><p>“My girls are good at cleaning up,” She said. She narrowed her eyes in Cloud’s direction. “Well… mostly.”</p><p>Aerith glanced at Cloud and saw that he was still blushing so deep red that the makeup couldn’t cover it up. Aerith folded her hands in front of her and smiled at Madam M. “Thank you,” She told the woman with a nod.</p><p>Madam M shook her head and flipped her fan open. “Nevermind that. Don’t you have somewhere you need to be? The audition will start soon, you know,” She said as she turned around to begin walking back to her parlor. “And don’t let me catch you two doing anything else in those dresses. Next time, I won’t be so forgiving.”</p><p>“R-Right,” Aerith smiled sheepishly and watched Madam M and her girls walk off. Aerith turned to Cloud, who was looking somewhere to his other side. “Cloud…?”</p><p>Cloud cleared his throat and nodded. “We should go,” He said with a tight voice. “Can’t waste any more time.”</p><p>“Wait a minute,” Aerith said as he went to leave. Aerith grabbed his hand to stop him and he turned back to look at her with big, curious eyes. She frowned and looked at the ground. “I-I’m sorry, Cloud. I shouldn’t have—”</p><p>“Aerith,” Cloud said sharply to cut her off, making Aerith look up at him. He took a moment to carefully think of what to say next. “It’s… not like I didn’t do the same thing. Or… that I didn’t want it to happen. So don’t worry about it. Okay?”</p><p>Aerith’s face brightened as she smiled at him. “Even though I ruined your makeup?”</p><p>Cloud shrugged. “Good thing Madam M was here,” He said, though there was a part of him that wished she hadn’t shown up so he could have known what would have happened next. No, he told himself. They were on a mission, he had to focus on things <em> other </em> than kissing Aerith, no matter how difficult that small task seemed. “Maybe next time… let’s not wear lipstick.”</p><p>Aerith took a step closer to Cloud and looked up at him, their hands still held together. “Next time?” She repeated.</p><p>Cloud swallowed and turned away from her. If she kept looking at him like that, he wasn’t sure if he could stop himself from kissing her again. It was odd, in a way, to feel so strongly for a girl he’d only just met, but… he couldn’t help it. Aerith was like a siren and Cloud was helpless to her song. </p><p>“L-Let’s go,” He stuttered as he walked away, tugging her hand to get her to follow him.</p><p>Aerith giggled, and together the two made their way to Corneo’s mansion.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading! come scream about how much you love them with me</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://ko-fi.com/yououui">buy me a coffee?</a><br/><a href="https://www.twitter.com/yououuii">twitter</a><br/></p></blockquote></div></div>
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